Crusaders
The men who fought in the crusades were quite diverse in many ways ranging from class, motivation, and nationality, just to name a few. Stereotypically most people today envision religiously fanatical warriors marching off to the Holy Land to liberated it from the "Saracens", but most of the primary leaders were hardly fanatical and most often oppotunistic in the search for land and wealth. The two sections below are divided between literature about warriors who fought as members of the Catholic church (Religious Warriors) or warriors who fought for their own wealth and interests (Secular Warriors). Those falling in the Religious Warriors category are the famous Military Orders, namely the Templars, Hospitallers, and the Teutonic Knights. Religious Warriors General 1) The Knights of Christ ''' Author: Terence Wise Illustrator: Richard Scollins Publisher: Osprey Publishing, Midland House, West Way, Botler, Oxford OX2 0PH, UK Year: 1984 Length: 40 Pages Description: The Knights of Christ is an excellent starting point for those interested in the basics of the Military Orders. In addition to the three most famous orders (Templars, Hospitallers, and Teutonic Knights) the book also describes the lesser-known orders such as the Spanish Knights of Santiago or the Knights of St. Lazarus. The information provided is of a superficial level and is purely an overview with the bonus of some nice artwork. '''Templars Hospitallers Teutonic Knights 1) The Teutonic Knight (1190-1561) Author: David Nicolle Illustrator: Graham Turner Publisher: Osprey Publishing, Midland House, West Way, Botler, Oxford OX2 0PH, UK Year: 2007 Length: 64 Pages Description: Although not a deep scholarly work, this book goes into much greater detail than the "Knights of Christ" work does. The information provided in this text is as much as the average reader would care to know about this particular Military Order. The information provided is mostly accurate and the artwork is superb. An added bonus of the artwork is that much of the equipment used by the knights are reproduced in detail, something which the Osprey books have begun to put much effort into. As with all the Osprey books, and excellent starting point for the average reader. 2) The Teutonic Knights: A Military History Author: William Urban Illustrator: N/A Publisher: Stackpole Books, 5067 Ritter Road, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055, USA Year: 2003 Length: 290 Pages Description: This book is perhaps the finest yet created in the English language regarding the Teutonic Knights' history. A work of scholarly quality and detail, the information within it contains the rules, lifestylies, and campaigns of the Teutonic Knights as well as the major events and anecdotes of the order. The only drawback is its almost sole focus on the order's role in Prussia. Admittedly, this is the region where the order had lasting influence and its most power, but until 1291 the Teutonic Knights still saw the Holy Land as its primary mission and one wishes that this theater of operations had the same level of detail covered as the campaigns in Prussia and Livonia. Regardless, William Urban's book is an essential read for anyone interested in the topic. Also, it should be noted that the author has been very pleasant, congenial, and informative on several occasions when personally contacted with questions on various aspects of the Teutonic Knights. Secular Warriors Write the second section of your article here.